The Hunters of Sian

A New Adventure

--

Chapter Twenty-Two

A New Adventure

--

'I have a surprise for you,' Sallos said. Nell tried to smile. It made the muscles in his cheek ache.

'What's that?' His master led him down the familiar corridor and down the stairs without a word. Puzzled, Nell followed, the straps of his rucksack digging into his shoulders. In the early morning gloom, he could make out people waiting around. He frowned at the figures at the bottom of the stairs. Then his face split into a genuine grin. Jeremy grinned back.

'You're still here?' Nell spluttered. Furcus snorted.

'Course we are. Waiting on your slow asses, ain't we?' he grunted. Nell looked up at Sallos in confused joy.

'That's the surprise. Furcus and I are going the same way so we thought we could start off as a group. We'll be travelling with them for the first three days until we split up,' Sallos explained, smiling at the astounded look on Nell's face.

'Did you know?' he asked Jeremy loudly. The other boy shook his head, still grinning broadly.

'No. Found out after I got back to our room.' Suddenly leaving was a lot more fun.

The sinking dread he had been feeling was washed away as they rushed out to their dracks, their masters following at a more leisurely pace. It took quite a while to get the dracks fully saddled and equipped with their bedrolls, cloaks, and saddle bags. Thorn was not at all pleased with the large load he was expected to carry but with Sallos just outside his stall, the grumpy male did little more than snarl.

As they led their beasts from their stalls for the last time until the spring, Nell caught sight of Todd. The man waved to him, and he waved back, feeling much more like an adult instead of a scrawny child. Glaive in place over his back, straps and buckles checked, Nell swung into the saddle.

Shade and Crag stepped out into the lead. They set their heels to their drack's sides and headed out through the main gate, not to return for another season.

As they passed by the town and the stronghold got smaller and smaller behind them, Nell felt again that fierce rush of freedom that came with stepping out into the unknown. The roads were incredibly busy. With the festival over, many people were packing up their stalls and animals to return to wherever they had roamed from. Despite the crowds of wagons and caravans, there were few dracks except for those ridden by the Hunters and the odd demon.

At first it was fun just to watch the people and their beasts moving like a living lake of undulating bodies. Tails flicked, horns tossed, and the air was filled with noise of herd animals, hooves, and the grinding of wheels over gravel and cobblestone. Drivers yelled to their beasts, people chattered in a mix of languages, children laughed and the young dracks pulled at their bits, eager to move faster. Jeremy was waving at a tiny boy riding next to his mother in the back of a cart. The little boy stared, open mouthed. His mother waved back.

Not far from the town, the main road split into four, each headed away into the distance. Most people took the first and second road. Furcus and Sallos took the road on the far right. It cut away from the crowds and even at this distance, Nell could see that it led down into a deep valley and away toward dark mountains.

Jeremy and Nell shared an excited grin. Furcus settled back into his saddle, extracting his smoking pipe and lighting it with a flash of magic. He began to whistle between puffs, the song jaunty and clear in the cool morning air.

The dracks had to carry quite a bit more gear usual. Shade and Crag were fine, but River and Thorn weren't used to the heavier load or the new saddles which was probably why the demons weren't forcing them to go any faster than a swift walk. Occasionally, if the slop tilted gently down and ground was good, they would all break into a looping canter until they reached another flat.